Saving Energy At Home, Part II

Turn off your air conditioner at night....and use fans.
Here in Texas, the temperature during the day has been 90 degrees or more for the last two weeks. But at night, by 10pm or so, it's cooled down outside to about 80 degrees. My house is reasonably well insulated, so it takes a long time for the heat to seep in. If you have a similar situation, try this: turn off the A/C at night just before you go to bed and turn on your bedroom ceiling fan, or buy table fans and aim them at your bed.. Sleeping with just a sheet for covering and the cooling power of the fan, you may find yourself quite comfortable at night with the A/C off. Just make sure you turn the A/C back on in the morning. If you have a thermostat, set it to turn off just after you go to bed and turn on just before you normally get up.

Two ways to cut your use of hot water
I keep seeing experts on the internet and in the newspaper suggesting that you take a bath instead of a shower to save on hot water. Does that really work?

By and large, it depends on who's trying to get clean. Try this little test. Ask yourself how deep you'd want the water when you take a bath. Six inches? Twelve inches? Then take a shower with the drain closed and see how deep the water gets. You may be surprised.

I decided that I'd need bath water to be at least ten inches deep. I took a shower, with the water at half-pressure, which is how I normally take a shower (see below) and was surprised to find I could take a leisurely 10 minute shower and the water was only five inches deep. So a shower works better for me.

By the way, I see no reason to spend $100+ to install "low flow" faucet heads (at a cost of $50 each) in your showers, since there aren't any laws on the books that say you have to turn the pressure on full-blast in the first place. I turn it on about 3/4 pressure, just enough to make the transition from main faucet to shower head, then back it off a bit to a perfectly pleasant half-pressure stream. Try it!

Buy yourself a large toaster oven.
It makes no sense to fire up a full-sized oven to bake a single pan of brownies or broil four chicken breasts or cook an 8" x 10" dish of lagsana or broil four hot dogs.. A large toaster oven with both top and bottom elements and a moveable rack can cook an astounding variety of food--mine is just big enough to cook a four-pound whole chicken. (As a single person I find the only time I use my full-sized oven is to cook a full-sized pizza). One caution: Because food in a toaster oven is closer to the heating elements, you may want to set the temperature a bit lower than a recipe calls for. And when you first start using one, keep an eye on your food when broiling. (By the way, I bought my toaster oven at a garage sale for $7-- and had the seller plug it in and demonstrate that it worked before I handed over the money, something you should do with anything electric.)

Saving Energy at Home, Part I

Back to the Past....Using a Clothesline
My electrical bill is now consideralby higher than it was last year, so, like many people, I really need to cut energy use. How? Try Grandmom's method.

Any form of heat generation uses a lot of energy, and that includes your clothes dryer. So you might want to try a clothesline. If you don't have a suitable place outside (some municipalities and homeowner's associations won't allow outside clotheslines) see if you have an appropriate spot in a dry finished basement or attic where you can screw some eyebolts solidly into studs. (Clothes won't dry in a damp basement. They will, however, mildew. Ugh.)

Outside, you'll need also some solid anchors, (it's surprising how much pull wind blowing through blankets or sheets can generate) though unless you're planning to dry tons of clothes, you don't need the traditional steel multi-line T-top posts. I just have a line strung between eyebolts in the tops of two four-by-fours sunk solidly into the ground about eight feet apart. I can dry five or six towels, a few sheets or five or six cotton T-shirts at a time....and in the hot Texas sun, they dry quite quickly, believe me.

I don't dry everything outside, just heavy stuff that takes a long time to dry in my dryer, such as blankets and towels. One caution though, if you do this....be sure to put some liquid softener in your washing machines rinse cycle or your towels and blankets will end up feeling like planks.

Any clean, dry place in your house will work. And this saves a lot of energy.....you should see how fast the wheel spins on my electric meter when my dryer is on.

Turn Electronic Equipment All the Way Off
When you leave your VCR, your computers, monitors, printers, TVs or other electronic equipment in "Sleep" or "Standby" mode, they're still using electricity. At the end of the day, switch this equipment completely off and save on your electrical bill. One way to make this easier is to plug a number of them into a one-switch power strip. Just be cautious though, with things that lose programming if you switch them completely off, such as routers.

Don't Heat Your Closets!
It makes no sense to heat unused space, so keep your closet and storage area doors closed. If you have rooms you don't normally use, like a guest bedroom, keep that door closed too, and shut the heating vents. Just make sure you don't leave a room with exposed or uninsulated water lines unheated....or accidently lock a heat-sensitive plant or one of your pets inside.

Before You Call A Repairman....

www.repairclinic.com
If you need to repair an applicance, and you're short on sources for parts and information, this site can help.

Isn't There a Simpler Way to Save on Water?

Sometimes "expert" advice on how to save money isn't all it's cracked up to be. One example? Many experts advise consumers to buy a "low-flow" faucet head to save money when taking a shower. How are you advised to test to see if you need one? One expert says you should turn your shower "on full", then see how long it takes to fill a 2-quart saucepan. "If it takes fewer than 12 seconds, you could use a low-flow shower head."

In the next paragraph, the expert advises that such showerheads can cost as much as $50, but "you'll save that in hot water costs in a few months."

This may be true, but here's an alternative solution......don't turn your water on full when you take a shower!

Is there a rule that says you have to be blasted by water at full pressure? Turn your faucet on high enough to make the switch from tub spout to shower head....then ease back on the pressure. All you really need for a shower is a warm stream of water, true? If you try, you'll likely to find that you can take a perfectly comfortable shower with the water at half-pressure. That will save plenty of hot water...and it won't cost you $50!

Energy: Sleeping Cool

We just had a few days of "rolling blackouts" here in Texas, with a week of unexpected 100 degree heat straining a electrical grid with some power plants offline for spring maintenance. Predicitions are that this may happen elsewhere as well, and even if the electricity stays available, what about the high costs? As the price of power continues to climb, more and more people are having to hike the temp setting on their thermostats, and put up with less-than-cool houses.

Here's one tip to help you with one of the toughest things about having a slightly overheated home...getting to sleep at night. WET DOWN YOUR SHEETS. Take a spray bottle of water and lightly spray your sheets, then strip down as much as possible (yep, naked is best!) and go to bed. The evaporative effect of the damp sheets will cool your skin and help you drop off to sleep. For the most cooling possible, add the effect of a ceiling or table fan aimed at the bed.

Keeping Your Electric Costs Down

Some money-saving tips from frugal friends and neighbors.

Back to the Past....Using a Clothesline

My electrical bill is now double what it was last year, so I really need to cut energy use. Any form of heat generation uses a LOT of energy, and that includes your clothes dryer.

I remember my grandmother using a clothes line. So I thought I'd try it. I don't want our clothes hanging outside, (Editor's Note: Some muncipalties and homeowner's associations won't allow outside clotheslines) so I got some white nylon half-inch line and strung it up in our basement, hanging it on some eye bolts my husband put in the wall. I dry the heavy stuff that takes a long time to dry this way, especially things like blankets and towels. I then take them down off the clothesline and put them in the dryer for a minute or two to "fluff" them. Works great!

Any clean, dry place in your house will work. And this saves a lot of energy.....you should see how fast the wheel spins on my electric meter when my dryer is on.

Turn Electronic Equipment All the Way Off

When you leave your VCR on, or your computers, monitors, printers , TVs or other electronic equipment in "Sleep" or "Standby" mode, they're still using electricity. At the end of the day, switch this equipment completely off and save on your electrical bill.

Don't Heat Your Closets!

It makes no sense to heat unused space, so keep your closet and storage area doors closed. If you have rooms you don't normally use, like a guest bedroom, keep that door closed too, and shut the heating vents. Just make sure you don't leave a room with exposed or uninsulated water lines unheated....or lock a heat-sensitive plant or one of your pets inside.